A book on Indian Philosophy
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwYiEnvEAmDHN2EyYjk5RDZvUUU/edit

cat videos?

"As an old timer, I always worry that we used to do Things That Mattered using the Cray 2 supercomputer, like forecast the weather or simulate nuclear explosions, whereas the bulk of the ipad's compute power is being deployed to watch cat videos on youtube. We have yet to re-imagine our world in terms of these new powers."
In 1977, I remember being thrilled that we would be getting a new computer since my requirement was to handle a 25x25 matrix that the existing system could not do.
Yet, I use all the computing power we now have to "watch cat videos".

I joined one of the MOOC s (massively open online courses- this one has about 55000 students enrolled) that have recently sprung up- to learn what the Stanford prof has to teach as well as to learn how to teach through different means and in different ways. The first two lectures were nice.
Through this and other online courses, I am hoping to come up with some method of teaching kids in schools to just appreciate learning- to view learning as a nice activity- like playing a game maybe.

Another cartoon that offends. By now, I am sure everyone realises that cartoons that are 

derogatory to religious symbols lead to an international backlash. Specially if the symbol is

islamic. Now France is spending a lot of euros to beef up security in its embassies. So why

could the cartoonist not desist? He/she knows that publishing the cartoon would lead to 

expensive security measures- spending his/her own tax euros which could have been used 

for beefing up their public schools or medicare or whatever. It may also lead to some acts 

of violence and some poor innocent person may get killed or hurt-- mind you, the artist will

get adequate protection.

Let us not even think of the higher moral value of tolerance for all religions, let us only

look at it from self interest-

Not publishing it is not going to harm anyone's interest. So why this compulsion to take 

protection under the freedom of expression and write or draw something that is so 

expensive to his/her own society?

I can understand publishing something - however offensive- that uncovers some truth that 

needs to be revealed, something that is important.  But this kind of self indulgence is difficult to understand.